North Star
North Star is a Pegasus stallion who currently resides in his cottage near the Whitetail Woods, along with his tweet bird Franco. Personality First and foremost, North Star is an indefatigable optimist. Although he tends to worry about those he cares for, his sunny disposition keeps his concern in check. To some, this might make him appear to be rather naive and easily distracted. This is not the case at all, as he is actually highly perceptive and empathetic; he just honestly believes that any situation, no matter how grim, will work out for the best. On the other hoof, he tends to be a bit reckless and impulsive: he will gleefully leap into any adventure, no matter the risk, just for a chance to enjoy the experience. He is hesitant to put his friends in any kind of danger, and tends to be rather protective of those he cares about. He also has a flair for the dramatic, and is rather motivational when he puts his mind to it. Although generally carefree and perhaps even a bit irritating, he has a rare serious side. Keeping his boundless energy in check is rather difficult, and he will most likely slip into his usual joking, optimistic self before long. History Not much is known of North Star's history before arriving in Ponyville, mostly because it's hard to pin him down long enough to ask about his history. He was born and raised in Appleoosa, and grew up with four foalhood friends: the starfruit farmer Reaper, the winter weatherpony Crystal, the cheerful Pom-Pom and the air magic specialist Ace. He speaks fondly of these four and, although he hasn't seen them since leaving Appleoosa ten years ago, he still keeps in occasional contact with them. He hasn't yet revealed his reason for leaving home, although he has briefly touched on his time spent traveling. He 'follows the stars', as he puts it. Every night, he waits for the brightest star in the night sky to reveal itself. Once he spots it, he immediately heads in its direction, following it until he arrives in a new town. He has traveled in this way for ten years, always moving wherever the stars take him, never remaining in a town for more than a day or two. During his third night in Ponyville, after a conversation with his good friend Cotton Orange, he glanced at the night sky and noticed the brightest star in the sky- the star he had been following for so long- hovered directly over the town. Taking this as a sign, he immediately purchased a cottage and settled down at the edge of the Whitetail Woods. Despite everything he has experienced since arriving in Ponyville- or perhaps because of it- he doesn't regret this decision in the slightest. Skills North Star is an extremely skilled cartographer, and his maps are among the best in Ponyville. He owns and operates Star's Matchmaking (and Maps) along with his assistant Ping Ping. Unfortunately, his skills in the former area are slightly lacking at best. Aside from this, he is extremely charismatic, often able to attract large crowds to his stall through nothing more than a bombastic musical number. As mentioned before, he is also rather empathetic and perceptive, as any good salespony should be. He can tend to be a bit manipulative as well, although his intentions are almost always pure. He is skilled at spotting the best in anypony and convincing them of these traits. During his travels, he has picked up some knowledge of wilderness survival and tracking as well. He is also a skilled improviser, although he tends to fail at any task that involves long-term planning or organization. The branchapult- a portable catapult that tends to backfire at the worst possible time- is the perfect example of this. Although a cartographer by trade, his special talent- as hinted by his cutie mark- is his ability to find a ray of light in even the darkest situation. No matter how scary or rough things may be, he is always ready to help anypony find that 'brightest star in the night sky', so to speak. His optimism and cheerfulness is almost infectious. Relationships The Hillhouse: Since his arrival in Ponyville, North Star has been linked to the residents of the Hillhouse. He first encountered Cotton Orange during a bombastic musical number in front of his stall. Despite their wildly differing personalities, the two struck up a quick friendship. Cotton helped encourage North Star to develop his singing abilities, and in return, he has come to see her almost as a sister, and has grown rather protective of her. North Star was one of three ponies, along with Azure Helm and Light Nighatos, to appear to Cotton during the hardest leg of her journey. North Star was one of the first ponies she contacted once she returned to Ponyville, and he revealed much of his past to her, including the meaning behind his cutie mark. Since then, circumstances have unfortunately kept them from interacting as much as Star would like. Azure Helm and North Star have also developed an unexpected friendship, although North is a bit uncertain how to interact with Azure, and may in fact be slightly intimidated by him. He has only admitted this once, to a filly Cotton Orange. Although he trusts Azure, he still attempts to keep his boundless energy in check around him. Although he has had limited contact with Infinity Francour, Light Nighatos and Cyan, he is slowly starting to see them as friends. Ping Ping: Quite possibly one of North Star's closest friends, the two met during one of North Star's now-commonplace nightly trips to the fountain. After Ping Ping faceplanted into the fountain, He attempted to pull her out, only to faceplant as well. After continuing on their separate ways, North Star began to suspect there was something rather odd about Ping Ping. He wouldn't encounter her again for several days, when she visited his stall and purchased a map. Later that day, the two would meet again. While helping her collect cans and other odd items, North Star finally realized that she was blind, although he kept this information to himself. Later, he would encounter Ping Ping again and, after some thought, offer her a job working at his stall. Although initially hesitant, she soon warmed up to the idea- thanks in no small part to a pep talk from North Star. Cold Snap: 'Being the first faerie that North Star has ever encountered, he was rather unsure how to interact with Cold Snap. Unfortunately, this led to him immediately accepting her rather overblown claims of power. He now makes regular tributes to her, usually by dumping branches in her fountain. 'Jason Voorhooves: Jason Voorhooves and North Star met during Friday the 13th, after Voorhooves' 'curse' was temporarily broken. North Star unknowingly dropped exactly 13 bits in front of the strange pony, and Voorhooves quickly returned them. In return for his honesty, North Star gave him a map of the Whitetail Woods and some cartography advice. Recently, North Star has taken him on as an apprentice of sorts. Voorhooves has given North Star the honorary title of 'Sir Awesome'- a title which is quickly growing on him. Fluttershy'and 'Mayor Papyrus: To put it simply, North Star is terrified of these two. During his first night in town, he encountered a butterfly raygun-wielding Fluttershy. While attempting to hide from her, he witnessed her turn the town hall into a swarm of pink butterflies. He managed to escape with his ponyhood intact, but the experience left him with a slight fear of both butterflies and Fluttershy herself. A week later, he would encounter Fluttershy again, during the early stages of the g'nap outbreak. While investigating a g'nap-infected Fluttershy and Spike, he was bitten and quickly succumbed to the plague. Since that night, his fear of Fluttershy has increased, and he tends to avoid her whenever possible. His reasons for fearing the Mayor are much simpler, and mostly revolve around the ten-inch stack of paperwork she dumped on him after he came to her searching for a place to live. After filing the paperwork, he vowed to never come within ten wingspans of the town hall. Unfortunately, fate- and the Mayor- had other plans. During his second week in Ponyville, Papyrus approached his cottage for the yearly Tacks Forms. Although she offered to assist him, her 'good intentions' only added to the pile of paperwork. To make matters worse, she revealed that the forms were due by midnight. This led to one of North Star's few moments of panic, although Wind Cheer and Aqua Skylight would thankfully step in and offer their help. 'Franco: '''North Star's tweet bird. The two originally had a bit of a rivalry, but Franco has become an unwilling accomplice of sorts. Although he would never admit it, North Star has grown rather fond of the often-sarcastic bird. Aura Tracer,'Shillelagh, Scamper and Daring-Do: '''North Star originally met both Daring and Aura during one of his trips around town. Although a bit surprised to meet his foalhood idol, Daring, he quickly composed himself and had a rather interesting conversation with the two. He is one of the few to know of Daring's true origins. Later, he followed Aura Tracer to an abandoned pub and came face-to-face with Scamper and Shillelagh. Despite his lack of experience in the more dangerous areas of exploration, he was asked by Shillelagh to accompany Scamper, Aura and possibly Daring herself on an expedition north of Equestria. Time will tell how he fares on this expedition.